brooo I just found the best paper (article?) about CAM plants appropriate for food production in a region the writers term “Aridamerica” (in contrast with mesoamerica) that encompasses northern mexico, the sonoran desert, and part of arizona and nevada….it’s so fuckin good
The article is the work of some researchers who examined ethnobotanical and historical sources, interviewed native people, and did ecological surveys in “Aridamerica”
Primarily they drew from the current and historical practices of the Comcaac (Seri people), O'odham, and Pima Bajo peoples. Here are a few excerpts from the article I really liked!
Agricultural visionaries from Argentina, Australia, North America, and elsewhere have been calling for “new roots for agriculture” for more than 40 years (Felger, 1975; Jackson, 1980). Their visions favor high biodiversity-low input agroecosystems, with greater emphasis on perennial polycultures. To quote pioneering desert botanist Richard Felger, to whom this article is dedicated, we must “fit the crops to the environment rather than remaking the environment to fit the crops.” Yet, to date few agronomists have given sufficient attention to effective means to reduce heat or moisture stress in crops and livestock, or in the humans who struggle to manage them (Nabhan, 2013).
The majority of widespread crops (e.g., rice, wheat, soybean) are C3 plants with low water-use efficiency and reduced photosynthetic efficiency under high temperatures. C4 crops (e.g., corn, sorghum, sugarcane) have higher heat tolerance but usually require reliable irrigation in arid and semi-arid land settings. As temperatures increase, so do evapotranspiration and water input required to maintain crop yields. Thus, even drought- and heat-tolerant varieties of conventional C3 and C4 crops may be unable to weather—let alone mitigate—the stressful agronomic conditions predicted for arid zones over the coming century. In contrast, wild desert plants have evolved multiple strategies to cope with heat and drought (Gibson, 1996). Desert plants with the crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) pathway uptake CO2 nocturnally when temperatures are cooler, thereby optimizing water-use efficiency (Nobel, 2010).
I really like the points they make here about C4 plants! Corn and sorghum are often listed as being more suitable for arid climates because of their improved temperature tolerance and water use efficiency compared to (for example) wheat or soybean. That said…both were originally tropical plants iirc, and while there are certainly drought-tolerant cultivars of both, they still use a *lot* of water in very hot and dry regions, and those well adapted cultivars aren’t the most commonly grown.
After gathering a list of plants commonly used as crops by the native people of these areas “For each species, we determined the photosynthetic pathway (C3, C4, CAM) and categorized water-acquisition strategy as extensive exploiter (e.g., Prosopis/mesquite), intensive exploiter (e.g., Salvia columbariae/chia, Phaseolus acutifolius/wild tepary bean), or water storer (e.g., Agave/agave, Opuntia/prickly pear)”
It’s really interesting to think abt those different drought strategies! For reference, extensive exploiters tend to have very wide+deep root systems that collect water from an extensivearea. Intensive exploiters tend to be found near temporary water courses that only hold water temporarily/for part of the year. This could mean washes/dry streambeds that flood in a storm, or rivers that dry up outside of the monsoon season. I know tepary beans typically grow quickly (often quoted as taking only 60 days from growth to seed set!) when water is available, then die and weather the hottest and driest season as dormant seeds. Water storer is pretty self-explanatory–agave and prickly pear are succulents that can store a tremendous amount of water in their tissues, saving it to tide them over until the next precipitation event.
Ultimately, the article graded a variety of plant genera on their agroecological suitability (how well they grow in an arid environment), any potential medicinal uses, their community/social value (cultural importance, providing shade in communal areas, etc.), and their agronomical suitability (can it be grown at scale, is there a market for it, etc.) I won’t bother to list them here–you can go see the whole chart in the linked article–but it’s a very interesting list!
Partial root drying allows some crops – everything from tomatoes to grapes – to be grown using up to half as much water, while producing about the same amount of fruit.
Of all the fresh water people use, more than two thirds is used for agriculture. Increasingly, water is in short supply in many important food-producing regions of the world and, as pressure on water use rises, so can the price of food. This is particularly important in drought-prone countries like China.
Partial root drying, developed by Professor Bill Davies and his team at the University of Lancaster, works like this: When one side of a plant’s roots are starved of water, signals are sent to the leaves to slow their growth, reducing water use. These signals also tell the plant to close leaf pores called stomata, reducing water loss.
Although the growth rate of the leaves declines, because the other side of the plant is being watered, it doesn’t wilt and carries on producing fruit. Alternating which side of the plant receives water prevents roots from dying in very dry soil.
In the area around Wuwei City in China, between 30,000 and 40,000 Olympic swimming pools’ worth of irrigation water is being saved each year by using this and other similar techniques.
A new aquatic design captures and harvest rainwater, allowing people in drought-stricken areas to catch utilise their own water. Design Academy Eindhoven Graduate, Shaakira Jassat, showcased the Aquatecture panel at Dutch Design Week last month.
Designed to fit on the outside of buildings in dense urban environments, the panels collect rainwaters as it filters through the openings in the structure. The water is then pumped into a grey-water system connected to the specified building.
‘The main goal was to create a water harvester that would fit in dense urban spheres through its compactness, visual identity and ability to integrate into architecture,’ Jassat said.
‘It consists of a modular panel designed to harvest rainwater. When integrated with technology, it has the ability to harvest moisture from the air,’ she added.
‘Instead of sliding off the surface, the panel permits water to be collected through a punctured, geometric surface. Aquatecture makes water conservation both visible and engaging.’
The panels are made from stainless steel, utilised for the materials durability and rust resistance. The steel was then studded with perforations in a slim, rounded funnel shape. Jassat tested the pattern, and other patterns, by making prototypes and showering them with water to simulate the rain.
Once the rainwater has been captures, the Aquatecture panels would allow residents to channel the rainwater into the building grey-water system, which can then be recycled along with the wastewater from sinks, washing machines and other appliances.
While the primary purpose of the panels is to catch rainwater, Jassat says that, if hooked up to other equipment, they could potentially also pull water from the atmosphere via condensation.
As part of her research into aquatic design, Jassat has also designed the Tea Drop tea machine, which has the ability to condense water vapour from the surrounding atmosphere. Jassat claimed that it could initiate an alternative for daily rituals, adding an element of sustainability to day to day routines.
‘It functions on its own time frame, so one has to wait for the tea vessel to be filled up with water, before it can be boiled and ready for making tea,’ she said.
Jassat conducted her research on tea farms in Asia, discovering that water is a large by-product of processing tea and harvesting tea leaves, which are dependent on weather and time.
Jassat’s next step will be to test the design in situ on a building facade. She has also recently conducted research into air plants – the tillandsia and bromeliad species – which draw all their water needs from the air.
Back in the real world, if no one said drought, we would never imagine there was one. No one is watering this grass but Mother Nature, and this is late season grass by the way. High OR skies and confirmation clouds crown the robust California landscape.
Snow is coming to the Sierras tonight with up to 10 inches in some areas. There is a winter weather advisory and special weather statement for these winter weather conditions. Temperatures will be 15-25 degrees below normal.
Here in the mountains southwest of the Sierras, it will be freezing tonight, but snow will probably not make it this far south, although there is a small chance. The sky has been exceptionally clear these past days with hardly any flyers at all.
How Climate Crisis could impact 5 Famous Gardens around the World
How Climate Crisis could impact 5 Famous Gardens around the World
by @PrimroseUK #climatecrisis #climatechange #climatebreakdown #ecocide
From severe storms to critical droughts, extreme weather changes caused by climate change are seriously impacting the planet. One upcoming event which has a significant impact on the environment is the fast-spending fuelled event that is Black Friday. Deliveries from Black Friday alone produce 429,000 tonnes of carbon and garden experts Primrose found that you would need to plant seven million…
And what are we arguing about instead? This is the biggest and most immediate threat to our existence, and politicians beholden to fossil-fuel billionaires pretend it doesn’t exist:
Rising sea levels, hotter global temperatures, wildly fluctuating precipitation patterns, and more frequent extreme weather systems will likely intensify global instability, hunger, and poverty. These events could very well lead to acute food and water shortages, an explosion of pandemic diseases, waves of destitute refugees, and violent conflagrations over dwindling natural resources — a likelihood that should be viewed as an immediate threat to America’s national security.
Those are the sobering themes of a new report on climate change, authored not by scientists or environmentalists, but by uniformed personnel at the US Department of Defense.
“The loss of glaciers will strain water supplies in several areas of our hemisphere,” US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said Monday during a visit to Arequipa, Peru for the Conference of the Defense Ministers of the Americas. “Destruction and devastation from hurricanes can sow the seeds for instability. Droughts and crop failures can leave millions of people without any lifeline and trigger waves of mass migration.”
FromWater Levels in Lake Mead Reach Record Lows, one of 21 photos. Exposed rock is seen near intake tubes at Hoover Dam, where water levels have declined dramatically in Boulder City, Nevada, on April 17, 2022. (Caitlin Ochs / Reuters)
BURN BABY BURN 19 wildfires have merged to create the largest wildfire ever recorded in British Columbia – Single blaze is estimated to be more than 467,000 hectares. From;http://www.desdemonadespair.net/2017/08/19-wildfires-have-merged-to-create.html?m=1 Not to ignore European heat wave fires such as, 1. Apandriti Kalamos, 50km north of Athens. 2. Trebizat near Capljina, Bosnia 3. Croatia along the Adriatic Coast. 4. Natural Park, Serra de Aire e Candeeiros, in central Portugal. 5. A rare wildfire in eastern Greenland in early August. 6. Serra Dura, Galicia, Spain. 7. Carnoux-en-Provence, southeastern France. From;http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/inpictures/2017/08/wildfires-globe-170823075735254
Would you imagine that 1.8 BILLION people globally use a source of drinking water contaminated with feces?
Recently on assignment with @water_compass an organization whose strategy is definitely working, trying to make clean water accessible to people along the cattle corridor ( specific in Sembabule and Masaka) but targeting communities where disease transmission is most likely occur.
These guys install water systems that pump water from underground, which is available all year round, clean for direct consumption and very affordable.
During the 2 days’ shoot, a number of facts were broken to my ears and they’re quite worrying.
Imagine; - Diarrheal disease is the second leading cause of death of children under five years of age in Uganda.
- 35% of the rural population in Uganda does not have access to a safe water source
- Hygiene and sanitation related diseases currently contribute to 70% of the disease burden in Uganda.
- Only 17% of the rural people in Uganda have access to improved sanitation
Please check out their website to support the cause.
